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Millennials are ditching the cookie-cutter McMansion for the 'McModern'

In recent years, the McMansion has fallen out of fashion for a new type of home: the "McModern." Like the McMansion, the McModern is designed for the masses. But instead of borrowing from traditional architectural styles, McModerns take inspiration from modernist architecture, characterised by an emphasis on vertical or horizontal lines, ample natural light, and a clean aesthetic.

That's according to Kate Wagner, the author of "McMansion Hell," a popular blog that explains exactly why the homes are thought to be so hideous. In a recent Curbed article, Wagner writes that McModerns have been popping up in liberal cities on the West Coast, the Southwest, and the East Coast. And they have become popular with young, tech-focused, highly-educated millennials.

Unlike the McMansion, the McModern is often more minimalist, she said. McModerns can lack the ornamentation that define McMansions, like bump-outs with mix-matched materials and cathedral ceilings. ... Unlike most modernist homes, McModerns are usually not made by individual architects, but by home-building companies that use pattern books. Similar to the McMansion, the McModern is a single-family home constructed from cheap materials, like vinyl and stucco board.